Blind To The World
by Katy-The-Platypus
Summary: All I wanted was to live a normal life. I didn't want to get involved with an alien race but unfortunately, I didn't get that choice. I suppose it comes with the title of Sam's cousin. How does someone like me, a blind teenager who can't even hold a decent set of friends, survive an alien war? Eventual Optimus/OC
1. Chapter 1

The base was layered in a heavy blanket of tense silence. The only sound which was able to penetrate it and reach my ears was the tapping of Lennox' pen against the metal table we were sat on. This wasn't how my week was meant to go. This wasn't how my _life _was meant to go; waiting for a husband to come back to me. Husband? Partner? Friend? I still wasn't sure what he equalled in human terms. Maybe it was even degrading to try. Bonded. _Spark-mate_.

It was only meant to be a quick mission. Optimus, Ratchet and Sideswipe were the only ones who'd been sent as it was a low-key, easily managed mission. A day, two at the most. Seven days later and there was still no word, no sign, no _feeling. _The bond wasn't working. Somehow, for some reason, Optimus was blocking it. I could neither feel anything or send anything. I could only hope that he was indeed blocking it, and not dead.

_No_. He couldn't be offline. I would know about that. That was one thing he couldn't hide.

"Lennox, where are they?" I asked quietly. At first I wasn't sure he'd heard.

"I don't know."

How had my life come down to this? When had I made the decision to be a part of something which could kill me in more ways than I thought possible. If there was even the slight possibility that Optimus was offlining, I could be facing my final year alive and, in that time, leading the Autobots until the time a 'suitable replacement' could be found.

And then it happened. The shout came up from outside that they were back, and with it came the cry for every mechanic on the base. Something was wrong. One of the Autobots was down.

_**Five years ago**_

I didn't like being classed as 'weak' or 'needy'. Unfortunately, everyone bar my family sees me that way. Fourteen years ago I was involved in a serious car accident involving a drunk driver in a four by four, a lorry and my family car. My parents were both killed but I escaped with a broken arm, two broken legs and two mutilated eyes. I was three at the time and most things before the accident are hazy. As a result, I didn't really miss my sight. I'd only had three years of it and little of it was remembered.

I'd been shipped off to live with my mother's sister, her husband and her son. Aunt Judy had taken me in instantly, spending her free time learning Braille with me and modifying her house to accommodate me. Uncle Ron and my Cousin Sam had been roped into learning Braille and all three had helped me pick out my first Guide Dog when I was thirteen. That same dog was now waking me up. That and Aunt Judy was calling to me from the kitchen. "Tamara! Tamara, breakfast!" I rolled over and my face was licked happily by a tongue smaller than that of Boo, my dog.

"Mojo!" I groaned, pushing the smaller animal away. He landed with a thump and a whine on my carpet and I sighed. "It's your own fault." I sat up, reaching down to pet Boo who was panting happily. "'Morning girl." she nudged my leg and I slumped my shoulders. "I don't want to go to school." I muttered but got to my feet anyway, heading for the door. My room had been the same since I'd arrived fourteen years ago, like the rest of the house, so I didn't need Boo's help to navigate. My room was on the ground floor and I followed the smell of pancakes into the kitchen. I heard Uncle Ron before I felt his usual bone-crushing hug.

"Morning kid."

"Morning." I replied with a smile as he led me to my seat.

"Sam never cleaned up last night. Running over his stuff for today." I smiled. Sam needed one more A grade and he'd be getting his new car. He'd got all the other requirements like the $2,000 and the other A grades. He just needed this one in Genealogy.

"He'll do great, I'm sure. Tell him I say good luck?" I asked my Aunt and the clink of china on marble indicated my plate was infront of me.

"Of course." I smiled as I tucked into my pancakes. I went to a school half an hour away from Tranquillity. Sam wasn't exactly an early riser so I hardly saw him in the morning. "I thought I'd take you this morning." Aunt Judy informed me. "Have a little girl time. Boo needs her walk too." I nodded. There was no need for Boo to come to the Highschool with me. We all knew our way and there were enough members of staff about to help us if needed.

"Sure thing. Boo needs it I'm sure." In response my dog whined. "Oh, you're getting fat and you know it!" My aunt and uncle chuckled at my tendency to talk to my dog like a human. The truth was, it's what I saw Boo as. I didn't have any friends that lived nearby and hopping on a bus was a little difficult. Sam and his friend Myles were my only source of company that were the same age as me. Aunt Judy was great for a girl-talk, but Boo listened and didn't answer back. "I picked you up some more Braille paper and your laptops been charging all night." My aunt informed me once she'd finished laughing at my weird habits. "Your clothes are on your dresser."

"Thanks." I didn't really need my Aunt to pick out my clothes for me, but I didn't have the heart to tell her to stop. Each of my clothes had a tiny button sown on the inside so I could tell the colour. My red shirts had a button on the inside of the left sleeve. My black shirts had one on the left sleeve. Jeans had one on the front pocket and so on, so forth.

Breakfast done I slid from the table, heading towards the bathroom. My feet moved from tile to carpet to tile again as I pushed the door shut behind me. I felt my way around the bathroom, using the Braille notes to distinguish between my toothbrush and everyone else's. When Sam was twelve he'd found it funny to switch our toothbrushes around and laugh when I used someone else's. As a result Aunt Judy had applied Braille notes and Uncle Ron had made a dent in the handle of mine. I knew they were trying to help but it only made me feel weaker. I pushed the thought aside as I headed back to my room. Boo nudged something to my foot and I bent down to pick it up. It was my phone. It was safe to say that I hated the thing. Both that and my laptop translated my speech into words then, when received by another phone or computer like my own, translated the text into words. I preferred Braille paper over electronics any day.

Ten minutes later and I was ready to go. My hand was looped through my Aunt's arm as we bid goodbye to my uncle and stepped outside. It was warm and my skin heated from the sun. It was a dry heat and I smiled. No sign of rain. I _hated _rain. Without Boo I stepped in way too many puddles, making the rest of my day uncomfortable and frustrating. I relayed the lack of approaching rain to my aunt and she laughed.

"Well, the sky's clear but you know what this global warming's like!" She tapped the family car's boot, letting me know where it was. It was unnecessary as Boo was nosing me towards the correct door.

The ride to my school was short. Or at least, it felt like it. Most people think I'd find it longer with nothing to look at, but I can listen to all the cars passing us, the radio, Boo and my aunt and, on quieter days, things other than traffic outside of the car. "I'll be back to pick you up at two. With any luck, Sam will get his car and he'll be able to take you out!" I smiled in the direction of my aunt, getting from the car. Sam treated me like a sister, yes, but he wouldn't be seen out with me. It 'ruined his rep.' as I'd hear someone refer to it once when we were fifteen. I followed the sound of voices that led me towards the school, moving into the entrance hall. I stopped and listened for the sound of my friend. I heard her by the sound of her wheelchair moving across the floor. There were several wheelchair's in the school, but Chrissie's had a quiet squeak in the left wheel.

"Good morning, Chrissie." I said as I caught up with her chair.

"Morning Tam. You doing okay?"

"Yep." I replied, following the sound of her chair towards out form room and first class. Chrissie had also been in an accident when she was little but had broken both of her legs. She'd been ten at the time and often mentioned how much she missed her sight. Although I knew my way around the school well enough, I still kept my right hand on the wall. It was something that I'd heard many people confess to doing. It made us feel more grounded without the comfort of our dogs. We found our seats in out class, joining two other students and a helper at the desk. There was one helper for every desk in the school. That was _a lot _of staff. Chrissie and I shared a desk with Morgan, Holly and Mrs Hanna. She brought the total of helpers in the class to eight. Not including the teacher.

"Good morning ladies." Mrs Hanna, or just Hanna, greeted. "How are we?"

"Tired and wishing we were still in bed." Chrissie muttered and I heard her apply her brakes.

"I'll second that." Morgan sighed. "I wish I could still be cuddled up to Pepper." Pepper was Morgan's dog and I often got the feeling that Morgan was closer to the dog than her family.

The day moved slowly, even for me. Each hour seemed to drag on for a year and by the time three o'clock rolled around, I felt dead on my feet. I hated Friday's – double maths, double English and study period. It was tedious and murderous. "Do you think your cousin got his car today?" Chrissie asked as we followed Hanna out to the car park. There'd been a room change last period and the school had instantly deemed us incapable of getting out of the building on our own.

"If he did he'll be off after some girl." I muttered. I didn't understand Sam's fascination with some 'Mikaela' girl. I'd often overheard him talking about her to Myles or just to himself. She sounded dull and like she wouldn't look twice at him. But I couldn't judge. I'd never met the girl.

"Tamara, your Aunt is ahead." Hanna called and I grimaced. I knew where my aunt was. I could hear the engine of her car. I gave my thanks anyway, bid goodbye to the others and headed to the car, being met halfway by Boo.

"Hey Boo. Miss me?" She nudged her nose into my hand and I smiled. "I missed you too." I slid into my seat and laughed as Boo jumped onto my lap. "Good girl. Hey Aunt Judy." I smiled towards the driver's seat and reached to pull the door shut. "Sam get his car?"

"His school doesn't finish for another ten minutes. Ron said he'll ring to let us know Sam's final grade." I nodded, knowing that if the call was late, Sam would've stayed behind to beg his teacher for that A. Sure enough, the call was late.

"Aunt Judy? Phone."

"Oh! Thank you!" I hear her rummaging in her bag one handed for her phone.

"I'll get it." I sighed and she dropped her handbag into my lap. My hand hovered inside before I located the phone, snatching it up and hitting the only button on the phone.

"This is Tamara."

_It's Ron. Sam got an A-. _I grinned, relaying the information to my aunt.

"Tell him we say well done and he's to get the best car he can with what little money you're going to add to his total of two thousand." It was a well known fact that Uncle Ron did _not _spend money unless he had to.

_Will do. See you later. _And the phone clicked off.

"Sam's gonna end up with a pile of crap, isn't he?" I sighed and took my Aunt's laughter as a yes.

-X-

I was getting tired when I heard a choked engine stop out the front of the house. I rolled over and smacked my alarm clock. _Time: Nine Fifteen PM_. I groaned at the automated reply. Sliding from bed I made my way to the front of the house. "Sam? That you?" I called, opening the front door.

"Yeah! I got a new car!"

"So I've heard. It sounds like a piece of crap." I laughed, gripping Boo's scruff. She led me down the steps to the front garden, pausing next to the car. "What type is it?"

"A yellow and black Camaro." Sam replied proudly. I reached out my spare hand and it came into contact with rough metal. I rubbed the area and bits of metal chipped off and scraped my hand. Rust.

"It needs some work done to it, but I don't care. I have a car!" I could hear Sam's grin. I moved along the car, letting go of Boo to run my hands along the exterior. "It's mainly yellow with two black stripes running along the middle of it." Sam explained.

"So, like a bumblebee?" I asked. I vaguely remembered them from when I was little.

"S'pose so."

"Bumblebee." I smiled. "Your cars got a name; it's one step closer to being decent."

"Hey!" Sam objected as I stepped back from the car, grabbing onto Boo again. "I'm gonna back it into the drive. I'll see ya tomorrow."

"Sure thing Sam. Congrats with the car, but you so owe me a ride." Sam didn't reply so I moved back towards the house.

"I shrugged!" He called after me and I waved over my shoulder before closing the door.

"That is a bad feeling car!" I called out to Uncle Ron, pausing in the hallway. "It's all rusted!"

"Yeah, well, when I was his age I was happy to have an engine and two wheels." Was the response and I snorted.

"Cheap ass Uncle." I muttered, heading back to my room and shaking my head as I heard a 'pop' of Bumblebee's engine. That thing wouldn't last the week.


	2. Chapter 2

**Thanks for all the encouraging reviews! I've never written from the point of view of a blind person so I'm having to do a lot of research to find out what the do differently. Please try and bare with me! **

My dreams that night were the usual, strange, inexplicable visions I'd had for years. Most people wonder if a blind person can see things in their dreams. I could. But they made no sense whatsoever. They were filled with tall men and women made from metal, speaking in a weird dialect which was sometimes translated for me. There were images of metal buildings on a metal planet, of peace and war, life and death. My dreams centred around only a few of the metal people, all of which were male (As far as I could tell). The tallest, the leader I assumed, was a machine called Optimus Prime. The second was a broad man with cannons on his arms; Ironhide. There was what humans would class as their Doctor; Ratchet and a pointy-faced machine called Megatron. I'd never heard the names aloud in my dreams, but somehow I knew them.

I was pulled from my dream, which involved various different sections of fighting from the metal planet, by the sound of a loud band and a car engine. "There goes Sam." I muttered. I laid in my bed for a few moments before determining that neither my Aunt of Uncle were in the house and Boo was not in my room. I stumbled to my door, still laced with sleep, and called out for my dog. She appeared a moment or two later, nudging my leg. "Hey girl. Where's Ron and Judy?" I grabbed onto Boo's scruff as she pulled me towards the back of the house. She nosed the back door open and led me onto the porch, but no further.

"Use the path if you're coming down!" Uncle Ron ordered.

"Oh, Ron! You can't just tell her that. You need to get Boo to recognise the new route!" I heard Aunt Judy chide. "How are you feeling this morning?" She asked and I smiled in the direction of her voice.

"It's the weekend." I stated without elaborating. "Sam gone to get Myles?"

"Something about a lake party. He probably wont be back until curfew."

"He better not miss it." Uncle Ron grumbled and I shook my head, heading back inside to allow the pair to bicker amongst themselves. I flopped onto the sofa and reached down to grab my book – a Braille version of the classic 'Oliver Twist'. I flitted between reading and doing my homework throughout the day, Sam not returning until after dinner. He headed straight up to his room and I could've _sworn _I smelt perfume on him. Neither my aunt or uncle commented on it though so I stayed quiet. I headed back to the sofa in the eventing to finish my book and carry out my Saturday-night ritual of falling asleep on the sofa. I woke some time later with a crick in my neck and to the sound of Sam yelling upstairs and Bumblebee's engine outside... _oh for God's sake! Who'd want to steel that hunk of junk? _

Sam thundered down the stairs and out into the garden, yelling for Uncle Ron to call the cops. My cousin could've woken the dead, but I doubted my uncle or aunt had heard. There was the jingle of a bike bell and the house fell silent again. I groaned. My uncle and aunt could sleep through the World Wars, of that I was sure. "Go fetch Ron and Judy." I said to Boo who whined but the scratching of her claws on the wooden floor signalled she'd gone. A few moments later and Uncle Ron stumbled downstairs, tripping at the bottom and sliding a little way across the floor.

"Everything alright kiddo?" He asked, his footsteps halting infront of me as I got up.

"Bumblebee's been stolen." Uncle Ron remained silent and I remembered that he didn't know the car's nickname. "Sam's car. He went after it on someone's bike."

"Of for... who'd want to steal that hunk of junk?"

"That's what I thought. What time is it?"

"Just coming up to four in the morning. How long ago did Sam leave?"

"About ten minutes. You gonna call the police?"

"Nah. He'd have done it. If he's not back by the morning then we'll go look for him. Try to get some more sleep." I huffed and headed towards my room. My bed was cold and I scowled as I got under the covers. There was the jingle of a collar and my feet were suddenly very warm and heavy.

I smiled. "Night Boo."

I was awoken a few hours later by the ringing of the phone. It lasted for several seconds until Uncle Ron's heavy footsteps on the stairs cut it off. I rolled over and hit my clock, groaning as I was informed that it was only half past six. I stumbled from bed, jolting Boo awake as I did, and grabbed my clothes before feeling my way into the kitchen. "Sam?" I yawned but my Uncle didn't answer. "Uncle Ron?"

"Sorry. Yeah, that was him. Local PD. Gotta bail him out." He sighed.

I rolled my eyes. "Can I come with?" He hummed in agreement and I smiled. "Walkies." I said, addressing Boo. She trotted off into the hall, returning a moment later. I heard Uncle Ron helping her into her harness and he handed me the handle. "Thanks."

"Glasses?" I shook my head, linking my hand through his arm. "I've left a note for Judy. We shouldn't be long."

When we got to the station I knew we'd have to listen to Sam's story. I just wasn't expecting it to be so laughable. "Look, I can't be any clearer than how crystal clear I am being." Sam said in a voice edging on hysteria. "It just stood up."

"It just stood up." Someone from my right, no doubt the cop in charge, repeated. "Wow. That's really neat. Okay, chiefie. Time to fill her up. An no drippy-drippy." There was the sound of a tissue being extracted from a box and I snorted.

"You honestly think he's on drugs?" I went ignored which didn't surprise me.

"What you rolling?" The cop addressed Sam. "Whippets? Goofballs? A little wowie sauce with the boys?"

"No, I'm not on any drugs."

"What's these?" The cop to my right shook something which rattled. Mojo's pill box no doubt. "Found it in your pocket. 'Mojo.' Is that what the kids are doing now? Little bit of Mojo?"

"Those are my dog's pain pill."

_Rodent_. I corrected internally. _That thing feels and sounds like a rat!_

"Oh? This dog here?"

"No, this dog is called Boo." I replied bluntly, turning my head towards the man.

"Oh, and did _you _see the car 'stand up'?" The cop asked and my mouth dropped.

"You are kidding me, right? I'm _blind_."

"How do we know you aren't lying?"

"Are you sure you're a cop?" I asked with an unbelievable laugh. At his silence I sighed and opened my eyes. I could practically _hear _him recoil. My eyes aren't a pretty sight, or so I've been told on numerous occasions. Apparently both of my pupils are irregular shapes and slightly discoloured. My eyes are meant to be slightly red instead of white and the originally green iris' are slightly grey. I imagine that's from the substance that splashed in them during the crash, but I'm not entirely sure. The Doctor's never went into much detail on how I actually managed to loose my sight. "So, I'm faking. Yeah?" I asked before closing my eyes and leaning back in my seat.

"Uh, Mojo's the family Chihuahua." Uncle Ron said uncomfortably.

"What was that?" The cop asked after a ruffle of fabric. "You eyeballing my piece, 50 cent?" I could only assume the cop was talking about his gun. I heard him lift himself from the desk and move towards Sam. The chair my cousin was sitting on creaked. "You wanna go? Make something happen. Do it. 'cause I promise you I will bust yo up."

"Are you on drugs?" Sam whispered after a pause and I had to fight to contain my laugh.

"Look, that's enough." Uncle Ron stepped in. "He's had a long night. Read out some charges or make a formal arrest. Otherwise I'm taking him home." There was a few seconds of silence before the cop responded.

"We'll run all this through the wire, see what turns up." I had no idea what that was supposed to mean but I was seriously considering re-asking Sam's question about the drugs. "But before you go, there's something you need to see." The sound of the telly being flicked on made me wince. This guy had bad hearing as it was, the telly was gonna be _loud._ And I was right. I clamped my hands over my ears as the volume was slowly turned down and the sound of static became less. Then a bored sounding woman began a lecture on the effects of drugs on people's brain. It only lasted a few minutes and for that I was glad. Sam was soon helping me to my feet and I was being led from the station.

"Wanna tell me what really happened?" I whispered to him.

"I dunno. But I think that there's a defective gene in my side of the family tree." He replied quietly. "I could've sworn the thing stood up." To his credit, Uncle Ron didn't ask about the event. Aunt Judy on the other hand, did. She didn't ground Sam but I was sure his ears hurt after all of that. I retreated to the garden with Mojo and Boo to allow the trio room to vent at each other. I was a little bit shocked when I head the sound of Bumblebee pull into the drive what I assumed was a few hours later. It disappeared again a moment later, after the sound of Aunt Judy's bike. I thought I faintly heard Sam call 'Be back later' but I wasn't sure. Aunt Judy and Uncle Ron had headed out a few minutes ago so they couldn't explain what was happening. When they did get back they were more that confused.

"What do you mean 'Bumblebee came back'?" Aunt Judy asked incredulously over the dinner table.

"I mean just that. Bumblebee's engine pulled up in the drive and then it left again. Sam must've gone to the cops to let them know it was back." I decided to leave out the part about her bike.

"Well, I'm gonna head to the living room. Our program's about to start." I heard Uncle Ron moving towards the living room and Aunt Judy excused herself shortly after. I headed back to my room with a sigh and my book.

"You know Boo. I sometimes think I'm the only sane one here." Boo whined, resting her head in my lap. "But I'm the ones with the crazy dreams, right? Metal men my ass. I should get Aunt Judy to check if Sam's putting Mojo's painkillers in the cereal."


	3. Chapter 3

When you're blind, it can be hard to tell when you're asleep. Of course, any confusion can be cleared up when you see the metal man known as Megatron spear another metal man from a distance. I thought these dreams were vivid enough, but tonight I could almost feel the metal under my feet. Jolting awake I decided that I really needed to check about those painkillers.

Considering woke up suddenly I could find no apparent reason for it. I rolled over to check the time and was informed it was quarter past eleven. The sound of heavy footsteps outside of my window made me freeze. I could hear someone hissing and I gulped. It sounded like Sam. My fingers reached out for Boo's scruff as I got to my feet. Heading towards the garden probably wasn't going to be the best idea, but Boo could be way more terrifying that Mojo. I reached the door to the sound of Sam scolding Mojo and the television still blaring in the living room. "Sam?" I called out and tension suddenly filled the air. "Sam, is that you?" I heard Sam curse softly and I frowned, taking a small step towards the wooden steps at the end of the patio. "Are you okay? What's going on?"

"Who is this?" I jumped at the deep voice that came from _above _me. "Is the femme an imposter? Does she need terminating?" I jumped shook my head violently, trying to locate the source of the second voice as Boo growled softly beside me.

"No!" Sam said hurriedly and I heard him running towards me and his arm draped around my shoulder. "This is my cousin, Tamara. She lives with me."

"Sam, what's going on?" I demanded. "Who are you talking to? Why are their voices so far up?" My mind flicked to my dreams but I brushed it off. Acting crazy wouldn't go down well with Sam in front of his friends. But before he could reply, someone else butted in.

"What does she mean by that?" The voice from earlier, the one who implied I needed terminating, demanded. "Can't she see us?"

"Ironhide." Another voice snapped. "There appears to be something wrong with her optics. Look at them compared to Sam's."

"If you mean my eyes then yes, there's something wrong; I'm blind." I replied, trying desperately to keep sarcasm out of my voice. "And what are optics? And what type of name is _Ironhide_?" I trailed off as I was metaphorically smacked in the face with a brick. "O- Optimus Prime?" I asked without thinking and Sam froze up next to me. _Well bloody done, Tamara! _I scolded myself.

"That is I." A deep, baritone voice replied from somewhere infront of me. He had to be kneeling or something because there was no way he could be that short. "How do you know of my existence?"

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you." I replied weakly.

"Sam?" I started as a girl called across the garden. "Glasses?"

"Oh, yeah. Sorry!" Sam dropped his arm and I heard the door behind me swing open then return to the latch. The garden was left in silence except for the soft growl of Boo.

"Calm down." I told her sternly, to which she did. "Who are you?" I called out, hoping the girl was still there.

"Mikaela. I didn't know Sam had a cousin."

"Yeah, well, I 'ruin his rep' or something. How many, uh... I'm sorry. I don't know what you're called."

"Autobots - Autonomous Robotic Beings from the planet Cybertron." Optimus Prime replied.

"Uh, yeah. How many of you are there stood in my back garden?"

"Five." I heard Mikaela's footsteps on the new pavement and I heard her come to a halt in front of me. "Bumblebee included."

"Bumblebee?" I questioned there was a chirp from my right and I jumped violently.

"Sam's car." Well, that was a little bit ironic.

"**You got my name right... little duchess." **I frowned at the sound of the radio being flicked on and off and mashed together. **"This is how... I …. do it." **I supposed his voice box was hurt or something similar.

"And the glasses?"

"Sam's Great-Great Grandfather's. They hold the key to the world or something."

"Oh, so no pressure then."

"Time is short." I jumped slightly as Optimus' voice appeared close to the decking. I heard Mikaela squeak slightly and she fell silent. "She has gone to help Sam. Are you able to?"

"Close your eyes and tell me." I muttered. "I'm sorry, I don't do well with new people." To support my point Boo started to growl again. "Oh for Heaven's sake." I muttered.

"Is there something wrong with your pet?" Optimus asked and I bit my lip.

"Can you hold out your hand for me?" I asked sheepishly. I held out my own and something cold touched my fingers. I wrapped my fingers around it and smiled. It was a finger and it was easily the size of my hand. Boo stopped growling after that.

"Excuse me, but time is short." I heard a whirring and clicking sound which indicated Optimus moving away and I patted Boo's head.

"See? Not that bad." I doubt I'd be saying that if I could actually see them. There was no doubt that they were different from the figures in my dreams. They had to be, right? The sound of Optimus' clicking and whirring was joined by more sounds and the yard soon fell silent. From above me I heard Sam saying something about the garden not being a truck-stop before saying something about Aunt Judy's flowers.

That was when the Earthquake hit.

Although I was pretty sure Earthquake's didn't have alarms like a rescue vehicle's. "Tam? Tamara!" Aunt Judy called from inside the house and I turned, slipping inside and leaving the Autobots to pick up whoever fell down. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just let Boo out to use the bathroom." I heard the two move swiftly towards the stairs, exclaiming something about a light. I guess the fallen Autobot took out the lights. "Boo, Sam's bag. Go fetch." I said in the voice reserved for telling a dog to do something. Another tremor shook the house and I groaned. It was a good thing Uncle Ron didn't pay attention too much. I smiled as something heavy was dropped at my feet. "Good girl." I patted Boo's head before rummaging through the bag, grinning triumphantly when I came up with the glasses. I pocketed them before pushing Sam's bag to the side as the four descended the stairs. Not a moment later and there was a knock at the door. "I thought it was late." I muttered. To which Sam replied it was half eleven. Uncle Ron moved to answer the door but I didn't pay attention to the conversation. Boo would 'lend a hand' if need be. "Got the glasses." I said quietly but before I could hand them to Sam, someone was pulling me back. Due to lack of protest from Boo I assumed it was Sam or Aunt Judy

"What is it?" Sam demanded as I fell back into a smaller frame. _Hello Mikaela..._

"How you doing, son? Is your name Sam?" The man who asked had the type of voice which made my skin crawl. It screamed 'jerk' ten times over.

"Yeah."

"You need to come with us." At this I heard both Aunt Judy, Uncle Ron, Mojo and Boo object.

"Whoa, way out of line." Uncle Ron faux laughed and I was pushed back further towards the kitchen.

"Sir, I am asking politely. Back off."

"Who the hell are you?" I demanded but got no reply, only unwanted attention.

"Who's this? A sister, girlfriend, an _amigos_?"

"Cousin." I spat. "Boo!" I called. "Boo, come here!" I repeated when she didn't appear.

"Golden retriever? State property." The man replied.

"You can't do that!" Sam objected for me. "That's her _guide dog._" If the man registered the words he didn't respond to them.

_Ass hole..._

"You're not taking my son." Uncle Ron snarled. "And that dog can come back too. My niece needs her."

"Really?" Again, I had the feeling that this was aimed more at the part about Sam's dog. Mojo barking from my ankles made me wonder just why he hadn't been snatched yet. _Bloody little rat._ "You gonna try to get rough with us?"

"No, but I'm gonna call the cops because there's something fishy going on around here."

"Yeah. There's something a little fishy about you, your son, your little Taco Bell and Golden Mutt and this whole operation you got going on here."

"What operation?"

"That is what we are going to find out."

Mikaela seemed to know something I didn't as my sunglasses were pushed into my pocket and a stick pushed into my hand. I grimaced. I did _not _like that guide stick.

Sure enough, a quiet voice spoke up and confirmed that we weren't staying in the house for much longer. "I think direct contact."

"Son?" The snarky man addressed Sam. "Step forwards please." There was an electronic clicking and that probably had something to do with the Autobots. I was willing to be that Mikaela and I would also have the same affect on the machine. I looped the guide stick's strap over my wrist and fastened it. I wasn't going to be completely blind, no pun intended. "Fourteen rads. Bingo! Tag 'em and bag 'em!" Someone grabbed my arms, pulling the stick from my grasp and replacing the strap with cuffs.

"Hey! I need that!" I objected. I got no response as I was half marched half dragged from the house.

"Make sure blondie keeps her stick." The man ordered. "But do _not _let her have it until it's been checked." What? Did they think I had a knife hidden in there? Or that I could wield in dangerously? Either way, I was bundled into the car after Sam and Mikaela, Uncle Ron and Aunt Judy being dragged somewhere else, yelling something about a lawyer. It was silent in the car until the creepy man spoke up again, his tone making my flesh crawl. "So, LadiesMan217." I snickered at the name. Sam obviously had no idea when it came to internet names. "That is your eBay username, right?" Sam muttered something about a typo and I chuckled. "What do you make of this?" The man asked and Sam's voice ran through the car.

"My name is Sam Witwicky, okay? And my..." The recording stopped.

"Is that you?"

"Yeah, that sounds like LadiesMan217." Mikaela replied haughtily.

"It's just a _name_." I snapped. "Sam's high-strung and you have no right to judge."

"Last night at the station, you told the officer your car transformed. Enlighten me." Internally, I face-palmed. I couldn't actually carry out the action for fear of giving it away. That and my hands were cuffed behind my back. A minor set back. I heard Sam let out a small, nervous laugh and I knew that there was no way out of this.

"Well, here's what I said, okay? 'Cause this is a total misunderstanding that my car had been stolen."

"Really?"

"From me, from my home."

"Early hours of the morning. Totally caught us by surprise." I added, knowing that we were all screwed anyway. "I mean, it's a hunk of junk, right?"

"And you would know this... how?"

"I'm _blind _not _deaf_. Idiot." I muttered the last part under my breath so that he couldn't hear me.

"Yeah, but it's fine now because it's back! It came back!" I wanted to smash my head against the window. _Well done Sam..._

"Well, not by itself, of course, because cars don't do that because that would be crazy." The creepy man and the other two teenagers faux laughed in the case of one, and nervously in the case of the other two. The creepy man cut off abruptly.

"So what do you kids know about aliens, huh?"

And there was the million dollar question.

"Oh, you mean, like a Martian? Like what, E.T? No."

"It's an urban legend."

"Yeah." Well, I'd give the two eight out of ten for their lying. It wasn't perfect but it wasn't bad. Unfortunately, those two points mattered the creepy guy.

"You see this?" I was tempted to reply as the creepy guy nosily withdrew something from a pocket but I kept quiet. "This is an 'I can do whatever I want and get away with it' badge. I'm gonna lock you up, _forever_."

"Oh, God. You know what? Don't listen to him." There went sweet little Mikaela and here comes the bitch. "He's just pissy 'cause he's got to get back to guarding the mall."

"You, in the training bra, do not test me. Especially with your daddy's _parole _coming up."

Sam and I spoke at the same time. "Parole?"

"It's nothing." Mikaela said hurriedly but her voice was catching in her throat. It was obviously a sore spot.

"Oh, grand theft auto, that ain't nothing."

"You know those cars my dad used to teach me to fix? Well, they weren't always his. Sometimes we couldn't afford a babysitter so he'd have to take me along."

"She's got her own juvie record to prove it!" Next to me Sam groaned quietly. "She's a criminal. And criminal's are _hot._"

"Oh dear God!" I spluttered. "How _old are you_? You sound like a perverted eighty year old."

"Listen, sweetheart. I can get you killed and dumped in the lake for treason with the snap of my fingers."

I snorted. "That would be your first achievement in your pathetic life then." I spat. I didn't hear his angry reply as the machine from earlier that emitted the beeping sound flickered into action sped up. My heart sped up with it. Something inside of me _screamed _that it was the Autobots. I tensed my legs against the seat in front of me with no way to warn Sam or Mikaela. I clenched my teeth as we slammed into something and went from fast to a stand-still in the sound of crunching metal. A scream ripped from my throat as I was slammed forwards. I was thrown to my left a second before I felt the door buckle and press against my leg.

"Big! It's big!" The person in front, the driver, yelled. I heard the sound of heavy metal on concrete and wondered which of the Autobots had both come to our rescue yet, from what I could feel, totally trashed the car. The windows smashed and I felt Sam's cheek on the top of my head, pushing my chin into my lap. I screamed again as the car rocked back and forth and I got the feeling of being lifted up. Whereas I had just screamed 'ah!' the others were actually screaming sentences.

"I can't see it! I can't see it!"

"Shift your weight towards the front!"

"All right! All Right!"

It was good to know that at least three brains were functioning properly. The sound of groaning metal and a snap gave us a few milliseconds warning to the car slamming back onto the road. We were shaken violently in our seats and I bit back another scream, replacing it for a pained moan. I definitely had whiplash. There was the sound of tinkling glass and the roof being thrown away and a heavy, awe filled silence settled over us. Oh, I would've paid to see the scene that was unfolding.

"You A-holes are in trouble now." Sam said from beside me. "Gentlemen, I want to introduce you to my friend, Optimus Prime." So that was the name of our saviour.

"Taking the children was a bad move." He rumbled and I had to fight to hold back a smile. Leader of an alien race with the voice of what Sam often referred to as a 'female's dream guy'. I sank back into the seat and the sound of guns being readied all around the vehicle. "Autobots, relieve them of their weapons." The was the sound of heavy feet running and hitting the pavement and I wondered how the driver hadn't noticed them before.

"Sam?" I whispered. "Is there a bridge behind us?"

"About fifty yards back." I nodded. That explained that then.

The sound of something spinning and powering up was joined by Ironhide's 'Freeze' and someone, or rather some_bot, _saying 'give me those'. The sound of metal on metal indicated that the surrounding men and or women no longer had their weapons. There was the sound of pistons and compressed air and I had the feeling that Optimus Prime was once again at our level.

"Hi there." For once, the creepy guy sounded somewhat unsure of himself.

"You don't seem afraid. Are you not surprised to see us?"

"He sounds like he's about to wet himself." I muttered but I wasn't sure if Sam heard or not.

"Look, there are S-Seven protocols, okay? I'm not authorised to communicate with you except to tell you I can't communicate with you."

There was a moment of silence filled only with the heavy breathing of the scared people around me. "Get out of the car." There was no asking twice. Sam moved from my side and I felt him pulling me across the seats and out of the vehicle. It was somewhat closer to the ground than before. The creepy guy was saying something about being grateful we weren't killed but I was more interested in the sound of clicking from Sam's direction and then from my wrists. It was explained when the metal cuffs fell from my wrists.

"Thanks, 'Kaela. If I can call you that." I added and I heard her confirming hum.

"You weren't supposed to hear all that." She said and I spun in a small circle, not listening to her explanation to Sam.

"One of you S-Seven jerks had better give me back my stick or I'm gonna beat you stupid with it." I threatened. It was hurriedly pressed into my hand and I tapped it on the ground. I started as someone grabbed my hand but relaxed when I felt it placed in the crook of their arm. It was only Sam.

"Big guys. Big guys with big guns, huh?" The creepy guy was _still _talking. I sighed and tapped my stick cautiously as I moved forwards.

"Shut the hell up. Seriously. Just _stop talking._" He paused talking and I smirked. "Good. Now you're going to tell me what Sector Seven is or you're going to find that I have rather good aim. Well?"

"I'm the one who asks questions around here. Not you young lady!" I raised my stick and I smirked as I heard him take a step back.

"There we go. Now how'd you know about _them _and where is my family? And my dog?"

"Classified. Classified. Classified."

"No?" Sam dropped my hand and I heard him move forwards.

"Hey! You touch me, that's a federal offence."

"Oh, get over it." I muttered. "If he's got your badge then you're screwed. Where's Sector Seven?" I repeated slowly.

"Wouldn't you like to know." I opened my mouth to retort but was yanked back. I protested but shut up when I heard water falling where I'd been stood. I grinned.

"Who's peeing on him?"

"Bee." Sam replied and I was sure I heard a little bit of pride in his voice.

"Bumblebee, stop lubricating the man." Optimus ordered.

"Sam, any change of getting these A-holes all in one place?" I asked and there was a moment before Mikaela replied.

"Line up. I want all your handcuffs on the curb, _now._" There was a moment of silence before anyone moved and the sound of metal hitting concrete could be heard. I stood awkwardly where Sam had left me for a few minutes as he and Mikaela left to carry out her plan. "All right, tough guy, take it of." She ordered a few moments later. "Your clothes. All of it. Off."

"For what?"

"Threatening my dad." I couldn't help but snicker as I heard the guy undress.

"Oh, I wish you could see this." Sam mumbled as he came to stand next to me again.

"Little lady, this is the beginning of the end of your life."

"Oh God!" Sam laughed next to me. "He's wearing a vest with S-7 on it and his boxers are white and pink." I laughed as Sam turned me away from the group.

"I will hunt you down. With no remorse!" Simmons called after us, his driver repeating him. "We have got to alert everyone." I heard him mutter.

"They already know." The driver replied and I stopped walking. "Speaker."

**Thank you for all your reviews, especially Miss Slenderpanties. **


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